Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical receptacles or fixtures, and more specifically to pluggable quick connect electrical receptacles or fixtures and wall box.
Description of Related Art
During construction of buildings, both commercial and residential, it is common to provide an electrical wall box for receiving an electrical receptacle, such as, an outlet or a switch. The electrical wall box is typically secured to the side of a vertical stud. Once the wall box is installed, wallboard is typically installed over the studs and an opening is cut in the wallboard in order to pass the electrical receptacle through the wallboard into the wall box. Electrical wiring from a power source or load enters the wall box via an opening therein, wherein the electrical wiring is accessible from the front of the wall box for electrical connection thereto the electrical receptacle.
To complete the installation of the electrical receptacle, stub wires electrically connected to the electrical receptacle are secured to corresponding wires in the wall box, such as, via wire nuts, or wires in the wall box are directly terminated on the electrical receptacle, such as via screw terminals or friction connect terminals and the electrical receptacle is secured, typically via screws that engage tubular openings (threaded or unthreaded—for self-tapping screws) in the wall box. Subsequently, a decorative cover plate is installed over the receptacle, by securing the cover plate, such as, via screws that engage threaded openings in the electrical receptacle.
Whenever a building is undergoing renovation, the existing receptacles and their cover plates are often in need of replacement or may simply need to be replaced to provide a different appearance or function. Further, it is often necessary to replace a single, defective electrical receptacle.
In order to replace such existing receptacle, power to the box must be interrupted by switching off the power to the wall box. Once the old cover plates and receptacles are electrically disconnected, typically a new receptacle is installed by securing the wires of the new receptacle to their corresponding wires in the wall box (step one), securing the receptacle to the wall box (step two), and, subsequently, securing a new cover plate over the replaced receptacle (step three). All of these steps are labor intensive, such as require considerable skill and manual dexterity to bend and manipulate the heavy gauge power wires and mentally challenging to understand the complex wiring schemes and generally require the services of a licensed electrician, resulting in higher costs than would otherwise be incurred through a simpler apparatus and method of installation.
When installing an electrical receptacle to a wall box, the receptacle has openings for fasteners to engage the wall box receiving apertures. Once the receptacle is installed, the cover plate is secured via fasteners through different openings.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is recognizable unmet need for a pluggable electrical receptacle and universal wall box and methods of use thereof that reduces installation time and wiring complexity to electrically connect a receptacle to a wall box.